You have the right…
…to get another job.
Imagine. Pharmacists choosing to “conscientiously refuse” to dispense “objectionable” medication.
From Washington Post:
“Some pharmacists across the country are refusing to fill prescriptions for birth control and morning-after pills, saying that dispensing the medications violates their personal moral or religious beliefs.”
This religiosity is going too far. Religion is a personal choice. People who choose to believe that birth control is evil can very well keep such thoughts private. I recognise a persons right to uphold their morality anyway they choose, I do not recognise their rights to tell others what to do.
Thankfully, the court system still thinks rationally, although this could change:
“Pharmacists are regulated by state laws and can face disciplinary action from licensing boards. But the only case that has gotten that far involves Neil T. Noesen, who in 2002 refused to fill a University of Wisconsin student’s birth control pill prescription at a Kmart in Menomonie, Wis., or transfer the prescription elsewhere. An administrative judge last month recommended Noesen be required to take ethics classes, alert future employers to his beliefs and pay what could be as much as $20,000 to cover the costs of the legal proceedings. The state pharmacy board will decide whether to impose that penalty next month.”
“He’s a devout Roman Catholic and believes participating in any action that inhibits or prohibits human life is a sin,” said Aden of the Christian Legal Society. “The rights of pharmacists like him should be respected.”
Give me a break! If the nature and procedures of his occupation grieves him, perhaps it is time for him to re-evaluate his career choices. there are lots of good paying jobs out there. Maybe he should become a shopping mall Santa, if he’s so religious.
March 29th, 2005 at 5:08 pm
That pharmacist has the right to refuse to serve a customer (pretty much any business owner or manager has the right to choose with whom and how it does its business).
He did NOT, however, have the right to refuse to send her prescription to some other pharmacy which might honor it. The prescription was lawfully hers to have filled, not his to retain.
And, how could he be certain that her scrip was strictly for birth control, and not to ease some other health issue (like severe acne, cramps, or other issues of the hormonally challenged)? He couldn’t.
Therefore, he was a jerk and LARGELY in the wrong.
April 4th, 2005 at 3:29 pm
Wait, Wait. Let me sit a moment…
Did we actually agree?!? Conditionally, anyway.
Love, T